God's wildness : the Christian roots of ecological ethics in American literature.

Bilbro, Jeffrey L.

God's wildness : the Christian roots of ecological ethics in American literature.

dc.contributor.advisor	Fulton, Joe B., 1962-
dc.contributor.author	Bilbro, Jeffrey L.
dc.contributor.department	English.	en_US
dc.contributor.schools	Baylor University. Dept. of English.	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2012-08-08T15:39:21Z
dc.date.available	2012-08-08T15:39:21Z
dc.date.copyright	2012-05
dc.date.issued	2012-08-08
dc.description.abstract	Early Puritan colonists expressed conflicting views regarding the religious significance of the New World’s natural environment. On the one hand, it was “the Devil’s Territories” that God would transform into “a Mart” to enrich his church. On the other hand, it was “God’s temple” in which humans should act as priests. While the first view justifies, even demands, America’s voracious extractive economy, many literary artists have developed the latter view to imagine ways that humans might fulfill more caring, priestly roles within America’s ecological communities. Instead of reordering the Devil’s territories to suit human ends, these authors challenge readers to reorder their own lives in order to participate in God’s wild ecology. This study examines the work of four American writers—Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Willa Cather, and Wendell Berry—to understand the different means they propose to enable humans to participate in the ongoing redemptive work that God desires to accomplish in his creation. Thoreau draws explicitly on Puritan forms of history and natural philosophy as he calls his neighbors to glorify and enjoy God “in his works.” Muir’s writings in support of the National Parks transfer the central tenets of Disciples of Christ theology to his own “gospel of glaciers,” so he preached that humans could experience God’s presence most powerfully in primitive wilderness. In Death Comes for the Archbishop, Cather models her priests’ reconciliatory work in their mission and gardens on the active submission to God’s will that enabled the Virgin Mary to participate in the Incarnation and Jesus to participate in his Father’s redemptive plan. In Berry’s essays and fiction, he articulates a “way of love” that humans can follow to honor and participate in God’s redemptive love for all creation. Each of these authors imagines practical ways by which humans can fulfill their role as priests in God’s wild temple, and their insights may help Americans reinterpret their religious traditions in order to find wisdom regarding how to care for the damaged ecological systems within which they live.	en_US
dc.description.degree	Ph.D.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/2104/8407
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.publisher		en
dc.relation.isversionof	Bilbro, Jeffrey. Loving God's Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature. 1st ed. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama, 2015.	en_US
dc.rights	Baylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.	en_US
dc.rights.accessrights	Worldwide access.	en_US
dc.rights.accessrights	Access changed 6/7/19.
dc.subject	American literature.	en_US
dc.subject	Christianity.	en_US
dc.subject	Environmental ethics.	en_US
dc.title	God's wildness : the Christian roots of ecological ethics in American literature.	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US